CarZoon Complaints Handling Policy

1. Purpose

CarZoon Automotive Ltd (CarZoon, we, us or our) is committed to operating a professional, transparent and reliable UK automotive marketplace. This policy explains how you can complain, what we will do, the timescales we aim to meet and the options available after our internal process.

We use complaint findings to correct individual issues where appropriate, improve our systems and guidance, identify recurring risks and support consistent marketplace decisions.

2. Scope

This policy applies to complaints from or about:

• visitors, registered users, buyers and prospective buyers;
• private sellers, dealers and business users;
• vehicle adverts, profiles, messages, reviews and other user content;
• account registration, verification, restriction or suspension;
• listing review, removal, non-removal or visibility decisions;
• CarZoon's paid advertising, Featured services and payment handling;
• customer support, accessibility and staff conduct;
• privacy, security or the handling of personal information; and
• how CarZoon applies its policies or legal obligations.

This policy supplements, and does not replace, the Terms and Conditions, Private Seller Terms and Conditions, Dealer Terms and Conditions, Acceptable Use Policy and Privacy Policy.

3. CarZoon's marketplace role

CarZoon provides an online automotive advertising and enquiry marketplace. Unless we expressly state otherwise, CarZoon does not own, inspect or sell the vehicles advertised by users, does not act as the buyer's or seller's agent, and is not a lender, finance broker, insurer, escrow provider or payment processor for the vehicle transaction.

We can investigate conduct on our platform, review account and listing decisions, preserve relevant platform records, take proportionate marketplace action and address complaints about services supplied by CarZoon. We cannot decide legal ownership, determine vehicle quality, compel a buyer or seller to complete or unwind a vehicle sale, or make a binding judgment on a private transaction between users.

4. What counts as a complaint

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction about an act, omission, service, decision or standard for which you expect a response or remedy from CarZoon. You do not need to use the word “complaint”.

Examples include:

• a support request that was not handled properly;
• an advert or account decision you believe was incorrect or inconsistent;
• content you reported that you believe remains illegal or prohibited;
• a charge, refund or paid CarZoon service you dispute;
• an accessibility barrier or failure to provide a reasonable adjustment;
• concern about how we collected, used, shared or protected personal data; or
• conduct by a user that may breach CarZoon's marketplace rules.

We will assess the substance of what you tell us and route it to the appropriate process.

5. Other requests and disputes

A routine question, request for information or technical-support enquiry is not normally a complaint unless you express dissatisfaction or the issue is not resolved appropriately. We may initially handle it through customer support and convert it into a complaint if needed.

A request to exercise a data-protection right, such as access, correction or deletion, is handled under our Privacy Policy and the applicable legal timetable. If the request also alleges that we mishandled personal data, we may open both a rights request and a linked data-protection complaint.

A content report asks us to review a listing, message, profile or other material. A complaint or appeal can challenge how we dealt with that report. We will link the records where appropriate so you do not have to repeat the same information.

6. How to complain

You can complain using any of the following routes:

• email support@carzoon.co.uk with Complaint in the subject line;
• use the Contact or Support facility on our website or in your account;
• use the relevant Report or Appeal option for a listing, message, profile, content decision or account decision; or
• write to CarZoon Automotive Ltd, 5 South Charlotte Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4AN, United Kingdom.

Dealer-onboarding or dealer-relationship complaints may also be sent to dealers@carzoon.co.uk. We will route them into the same complaints process.

Complaining is free. You will not be treated unfairly, lose access or receive reduced service merely because you make a genuine complaint. We may still take necessary action for a separate breach of our rules.

7. Information to provide

Please provide as much of the following as is relevant:

• your full name, contact details and CarZoon account email;
• the listing, profile, message, order, payment or case reference;
• what happened, when it happened and why you are dissatisfied;
• the steps you have already taken and any response received;
• copies of relevant correspondence, receipts or screenshots;
• any immediate safety, fraud, accessibility or vulnerability concern; and
• the outcome you would like us to consider.

Do not send passwords, complete payment-card details, unnecessary identity documents or unlawful content. Where we need additional information or must verify identity or authority, we will explain what is required and why. A delay in receiving essential information may affect the time needed to complete the investigation.

8. Accessibility and representatives

Tell us if you need a reasonable communication adjustment, a different format, additional time to provide information or another accessible way to use the process. We will consider requests individually and make reasonable adjustments where required.

A representative may complain for you. We may need evidence that you authorised them and may still contact you where necessary to verify identity, protect personal data or understand your instructions.

We will take particular care where a complaint suggests vulnerability, coercion, discrimination, financial harm or a risk to a child. This may require a faster or specially adapted process.

9. How we handle a complaint

During the process, we may:

• confirm the issues we understand you are raising;
• ask for proportionate information or identity verification;
• review account, listing, payment, moderation and support records;
• contact relevant staff, service providers or users where appropriate;
• take interim action where continued access or content creates risk;
• consider applicable terms, policies, evidence and legal duties; and
• give reasons for our findings without exposing protected information.

The person whose action is complained about will not be the sole reviewer of the complaint where an independent internal review is reasonably practicable.

10. Response times

A working day is Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays in Scotland. Time begins on the first working day after we receive the complaint. A complaint received outside normal business hours is treated as received on the next working day, except that urgent safety reports are assessed as soon as reasonably practicable.

These are service targets, not a restriction of any shorter or different statutory deadline. We will not delay a separable data-protection outcome merely because another part of a wider complaint remains under review.

11. Urgent safety and illegal-content concerns

Use the relevant Report option and contact support@carzoon.co.uk as soon as possible where a listing, profile, image, message or other content may involve:

• an immediate threat to life or physical safety;
• child sexual exploitation or abuse;
• terrorism, serious violence or credible threats;
• fraud, stolen or cloned vehicles, identity misuse or phishing;
• unlawful discrimination, harassment or other illegal content; or
• another serious breach of our Acceptable Use Policy.

We may preserve relevant records, restrict visibility or functionality, suspend an account, request information, and report matters to law enforcement, regulators or other competent bodies where required or permitted by law. Interim action is not a final finding and may be revised after further review.

12. Listings, moderation and appeals

You may complain or appeal where you believe that CarZoon:

• incorrectly removed, rejected, restricted or reduced the visibility of content;
• incorrectly failed to remove content you reported;
• restricted, suspended or closed an account in error;
• applied a marketplace rule inconsistently; or
• did not provide an adequate explanation for a decision.

We will consider the information available at the time, any new evidence, the applicable policy, the rights and safety of affected users, and our legal obligations. The reviewer may uphold, vary or reverse the original decision.

We may withhold detailed information where disclosure would expose another person's personal data, reveal confidential security or fraud controls, prejudice an investigation, facilitate misuse or breach the law. We will give as meaningful an explanation as the circumstances allow.

13. Vehicle and transaction disputes

Buyers and sellers are responsible for their vehicle transaction, including identity and ownership checks, vehicle inspection, history and finance checks, price, payment, collection, delivery, documents, tax, insurance and legal compliance.

If a dispute concerns a dealer, first raise it directly with that dealer and retain your advert, invoice, contract, correspondence and payment evidence. The dealer may have its own complaints process, trade-body scheme, warranty provider or mandatory dispute-resolution arrangement.

If a dispute concerns a private seller, the legal rights and remedies may differ from a purchase from a dealer. CarZoon can consider whether a user breached our rules and may preserve relevant platform information, but we do not determine civil liability or recover vehicle-purchase money on a user's behalf.

Consumers can seek independent guidance from the Citizens Advice consumer service. You may also have the right to contact Trading Standards, a relevant ADR provider, your payment provider, the police or the courts, depending on the issue.

14. Payments and refunds

Complaints about a payment to CarZoon, a rejected advert, a Featured service, duplicate charge, cancellation or refund will be considered under the applicable seller terms, the service description and your statutory rights.

Please provide the order or payment reference and the email address used for the purchase. Do not send full card details. We may need to consult our payment provider and may ask you for proportionate evidence.

A refund or other remedy will be issued where required by the applicable terms or law, including where CarZoon finally rejects or cannot publish a paid advert, or where a material failure in a CarZoon service justifies a remedy. Nothing in this policy limits statutory consumer rights.

15. Data protection complaints

If your complaint concerns personal information, email support@carzoon.co.uk with Data Protection Complaint in the subject line. Explain what personal information or processing is involved, what you believe went wrong and the outcome you seek.

Our 2-working-day acknowledgement target is more demanding than the statutory maximum of 30 days. We will begin appropriate enquiries without undue delay, keep you informed, and communicate the outcome without unjustifiable or excessive delay. We may provide the data-protection outcome separately if another part of a wider complaint needs longer.

A request to exercise a data-protection right is handled under our Privacy Policy and the applicable legal response period, which is generally one calendar month but may be extended where the law permits. We may need to verify your identity before disclosing or changing personal information.

If you remain dissatisfied, you may complain to the Information Commissioner's Office. The ICO recommends raising the matter with the organisation first and contacting it within three months of the organisation's final response.

16. Possible outcomes

After considering the evidence, we may uphold, partly uphold or not uphold the complaint. Depending on the facts and our legal obligations, an outcome may include:

• an explanation, correction, clarification or apology;
• completing an action that should previously have been completed;
• restoring, editing, restricting or removing a listing or other content;
• lifting, varying or confirming an account restriction;
• a refund, credit or repeat performance where due;
• warning, restricting or suspending a user;
• improving guidance, training, controls or technical systems;
• reporting a matter to an appropriate authority; or
• taking no further action where the complaint is not supported.

A remedy will be proportionate to the issue and does not require CarZoon to disclose confidential information, another user's personal data or security-sensitive controls.

17. Final response and external options

Our final response will identify the complaint issues, explain our findings and reasons, state any remedy or action, and confirm whether the internal process is complete.

Consumer contract complaints and ADR

Where a consumer-contract complaint about a service supplied by CarZoon cannot be resolved internally, our final response will provide the information required by applicable UK alternative dispute resolution law. This includes details of any ADR or other dispute-resolution arrangement available to you and whether CarZoon is required or prepared to participate.

CarZoon is not committed to a particular ADR provider at the effective date of this policy. Where it is appropriate to identify an ADR provider, we will select one whose current accreditation and scope cover the relevant consumer-contract dispute. Identifying a provider does not by itself mean that CarZoon is legally required or has agreed to participate; the final response will state the position clearly.

Other external routes

Depending on the complaint, you may be able to contact Citizens Advice, Trading Standards, the ICO, Ofcom, a payment provider, a relevant ombudsman or trade-body scheme, the police, or a court. We will identify a relevant route where reasonably practicable, but cannot provide legal advice or guarantee that an external body will accept a case.

Using this procedure does not prevent you from exercising a statutory right or contacting a regulator or authority. A time limit may apply to an external claim or complaint, and our internal process does not necessarily pause that time limit.

18. Records and personal information

We create a complaint record containing information needed to investigate and respond, demonstrate fair handling, comply with legal obligations, protect users and improve our services. This may include correspondence, account and listing records, moderation evidence, payment information, investigation notes, decisions and outcomes.

We normally retain a complaint record and associated evidence for 6 years after the complaint is closed. We may retain information for longer where required for a legal claim, regulatory enquiry, safeguarding need, fraud prevention, legal hold or another lawful reason. We may retain anonymised statistics after identifiable records are deleted.

Access is restricted to people and service providers who need it for authorised purposes. We may share relevant information with other users, professional advisers, service providers, insurers, payment providers, regulators, law enforcement or courts where lawful and proportionate. See our Privacy Policy for further details.

19. Unreasonable or abusive conduct

We will consider genuine complaints fairly, including persistent complaints made in good faith. We may, however, manage contact where a person's conduct becomes abusive, threatening, discriminatory, excessively repetitive, knowingly false or disproportionate to the issue.

Proportionate measures may include:

• asking the person to communicate through one channel or named contact;
• setting reasonable limits on frequency or requiring issues to be consolidated;
• declining to reconsider a matter without relevant new evidence;
• ending a call or correspondence that contains abuse or threats; or
• restricting access or reporting conduct where necessary for safety or legal compliance.

Wherever reasonably practicable, we will explain the measure, its reason, its duration and any review route. We will not restrict contact merely because a person is upset, has difficulty communicating, needs an adjustment or makes a complaint that is not upheld.

20. Changes and contact details

We may update this policy to reflect changes in our services, complaint process, technology, regulation or law. The current version and effective date will be published on this page. A material change will not be used retrospectively to remove a right or remedy that already applies.

We review complaint trends and this policy periodically. Where a change materially affects how an open complaint is handled, we will explain the relevant change.